


Inspired by a Meat Cleaver

by EverybodyLovesEggsy



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Real World, Amputation, Because I love both pairings, But I haven't actually decided so we will see which one ends up being a winner in the end, Harry is still a tailor and Merlin is still a tech genius, Harry still has a missing eye, Kingsman is only a tailor shop, M/M, Maybe Hartwin, Maybe Merwin, Will have to read to find out
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 12:46:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18811195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverybodyLovesEggsy/pseuds/EverybodyLovesEggsy
Summary: Title is because I was actually inspired by the fact that Dean threatens Eggsy with a meat cleaver after Harry beats up Dean's gang in the movieWhat if Dean threatens Eggsy with the meat cleaver and goes through with his threat? What if Kingsman is just a tailor shop that Harry still ends up working at? How do Merlin, Roxy, and Percival's lives look without Kingsman as a secret service?





	1. Not a Nightmare

_“Last fucking chance, Muggsy!”_

_“Fuck you!”_

_Eggsy bucked again, trying to dislodge the man pinning him down. But it was useless. The knee that was pressed against his back dug further into his spine, painfully crushing the arm stuck under his chest, and his other arm wrenched painfully as it remained pinned by Dean’s other knee. A hand painfully grabbed onto his hair and wrenched his head to the side so that he was facing his outstretched arm._

_“Don’t want ta do wot your told? Don’t want ta be useful? Then wot the fuck you need hands for?!”_

_Eggsy’s blood went cold when he registered the butcher knife in Dean’s hand. Eggsy bucked harder._

_“No, Dean! No!”_

_“Fuck off, Michelle!”_

_“No, please!”_

_“Michelle, shut the fuck up or you and the brat are next!”_

_Eggsy heard his mum’s sobs and Daisy’s wails, but otherwise she stayed silent. Time slowed as Eggsy watched Dean lift the cleaver before quickly bringing it back down. Eggsy screamed as the pain blocked out all other sensations._

**********

Eggsy quickly sat up, scream caught in his lungs. He panted, sweat making the shirt he was wearing stick to him. At this rate he should just stop wearing shirts to bed with how often he woke up like this. A hysterical part-laugh, part-sob escaped his throat before Eggsy could stop it. Eggsy clamped his mouth shut to cut off the sobs building in his thought. He brought his left hand up to rub at his face, trying to shake the nightmare off, before bringing it down to his right, massaging where it cut off at the wrist, trying to get the pain of the hand that was no longer there to stop.

Because it wasn’t a nightmare.

Dean had come back to the flat, hammered, and yelled that Eggsy wasn’t pulling his weight. So, he shoved a back of drugs – the hard stuff, not just marijuana – into his arms and told him to start selling. Eggsy had refused. Between the alcohol and a bad deal earlier in the week, the man’s temper flared even worse than usual. He attacked Eggsy more ruthlessly than he ever had in the past – which was saying something – and was able to get him pinned before…

“Eggsy?”

Eggsy snapped out of his thoughts, lifting his gaze and hand away from his stump – Eggsy didn’t want her to worry about the phantom pains – to see his mum hesitantly standing in the doorway of his room. He took a steadying breath, ignoring the electric-shock of pain still coming from his wrist.

“I’m fine, Mum.”

She stared at him for a second, obviously not convinced, before entering his room and sitting on the side of his bed and placed a hand on his knee comfortingly, “Is it the dream again?”

Eggsy looked away and squeezed his eyes closed. After the nightmares, sometimes he woke up with a quiet jolt, others screaming like that night. As far as he knew, his mum only knew about the nights he woke up screaming. Those were the only times she came to check in on him, anyways.

“Maybe you should go to those group sessions the doctor told you about.”

Eggsy whipped his head over to look at his mum in shock, “What?”

His mum brought a hand up to his face, “I know you said you forgive me, babe, but I see your resentment. You struggle to adjust without it, especially with the phantom pains you’ve been feeling. And you keep having the nightmare. I’ve been watching you drown since that night and I don’t know how to help. Maybe going to therapy, or at least meeting other people who are struggling like you, will do that.”

Eggsy pulled away from his mum and refused to meet her eyes again. She sighed quietly and got up to leave the room. When she reached the doorway, Eggsy heard her stop.

“Please, at least think about it, Eggsy.”

He listened to her quietly retreating footsteps before falling back against his bed with a sigh. Eggsy covered his eyes with his arm. She was right. He had been drowning. He was frustrated with all of the things he couldn’t do anymore. He hated watching his mum have to take his sister to the lady next door who offered to baby sit because he wasn’t able to anymore. And he was just so _tired_. It felt like years had passed since he was last able to sleep through the night. He may not have gotten good sleep when Dean was around, but at least he hadn’t been waking up from nightmares every night. Eggsy knew he couldn’t keep going like this.

He pulled his arm away from his face and stared at his hand and stump. He couldn’t keep going like this. Not if he wanted to put the past behind him. Not if he wanted to help his family move on. Not if he wanted him and his family to finally be able to live a good life now that Dean was finally gone.

Eggsy turned on his side and closed his eyes. He’d go to one of the therapy sessions like his mum suggested. For his mum and Daisy.


	2. What you do for Family

_As awareness filtered in slowly, all Eggsy could feel was pain coming from his right hand. Or maybe it was his wrist. He couldn’t really tell. Either way he couldn’t remember why it hurt so bad. The only thing he was sure of was that it wasn’t worth leaving the painless bliss that was unconsciousness. So, he began to let himself slip back into darkness._

_“Eggsy!”_

_The voice pulled him back, but Eggsy couldn’t quite identify who was calling him._

_“Eggsy, babe, please!”_

_Dimly Eggsy recognized that it was his mum calling him over someone crying. Who was crying and why did she sound so frantic?_

_“Please, Eggsy, I need you to get up before he comes back!”_

_Never had he heard his mum sound so panicked. Eggsy struggled to open his eyes in order to see what was wrong. But it was just so hard push away unconsciousness._

_After a few more pleas from his mum, Eggsy finally managed open his eyes. He saw his tearstained mum holding his wailing baby sister. Relief briefly flashed through her eyes until the panic returned._

_“Oh, thank god. Eggsy, we need you to get up so we can get you to the A &E. Quickly!”_

_He still didn’t fully understand what was going on, or why pain was shooting up his arm, but had never seen her so panicked before, so he did his best to push away unconsciousness and get up. As he struggled, his mum grabbed his elbow with her free hand in order to help him. Once up, she quickly shifted Daisy and then slung his pain-free arm over her shoulder and moved them towards the door. Eggsy did his best not to lean on her too much but found moving his limbs was harder than he remembered. After they got through their front door, he focused on the stairs in front of him so as not to send the three of them tumbling down them. When they were completely down the stairs, Eggsy nearly collapsed._

_“Eggsy just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, babe.”_

_Sluggishly, Eggsy did what she said. As they continued along the sidewalk, he looked down, hoping to see why his arm hurt so bad – maybe it would explain why the rest of his body felt so heavy and hard to move. Eggsy was surprised to see his wrist hastily wrapped in a towel held by duck-tape, probably done by his mum. There was no room in the towel for his hand to be. No wonder it hurt so bad, Eggsy thought distantly as he saw the bloodstain on the towel continue to grow._

_“Almost there. Just another block.”_

_Eggsy raised his eyes from the blood only to see an A &E in front of them. Was he really staring at his hidden wrist for that long? All he knew was that it was getting harder and harder to stay conscious._

_When they made it to the door, and people began rushing towards them, Eggsy lost the fight with consciousness and the world went black._

**********

Eggsy stared at the building in front of him, stump shoved in the pocket of his jacket self-consciously. It was a small, one-story building shoved between a coffee shop and a charity store. It was plain on the outside, making it appear completely undaunting. Which Eggsy figured was probably the point. And yet he was terrified to walk in. He knew he’d probably be expected to share, especially being a new member, and that scared him. Eggsy didn’t think he was ready to talk about what happened. If he would ever be.

But it had been a week since he told himself that he would go. And since that night, he had gotten so frustrated that he had thrown his shoe at a wall, cracking the plaster. His mum ignored it but Eggsy knew that he needed to work his shit out. Before he hurt him mum or Daisy. Before he became like Dean.

Eggsy took a deep breath in and walked forward. He hesitated at the door for a split second longer before walking in.

As soon as he stepped inside, he was hit with the smell of coffee. He looked around and saw a coffee machine that a few people were gathered by, while a few others were seated in a circle made up of foldable chairs. A few people looked up at his entrance and Eggsy realized he was the youngest one there. Not by much for some, but it made him want to turn around and walk out. Before he could, a middle-aged woman smiled comfortingly and walked towards him.

“Hello, I’m Jessica.”

Eggsy hesitated a moment, “…Eggsy.”

“Eggsy? That is an interesting name. It’s very nice to meet you Eggsy. I lead the groups here. Your welcome to sit wherever you’d like. There’s coffee and donuts that your welcome to.”

Eggsy silently nodded but stayed glued to his spot. Jessica seemed to realize his nervousness when he didn’t move and her smile and voice softened even more that it already had been.

“I know it seems a little daunting, Eggsy. But nobody here judges and nobody expects you to share until you’re ready. Even if that means never sharing. You are welcome to just listen. Sometimes just listening can help.”

Eggsy gulped and nodded again, slightly more comfortable with the knowledge that he didn’t have to share, and forced himself to follow Jessica to the circle of chairs. He picked a spot a few chairs away from the woman, because it was facing the front door, and tapped his fingers on his knee nervously.

“Okay, everyone, I think we are ready to start. Who wants to start us off?”

A man who looked to be about a decade older than Eggsy raised his hand and Jessica nodded to him, “Thank you, Eric.”

The man nodded, “Hello. I’m Eric, for those of you who don’t know…”

For nearly an hour, Eggsy sat in his chair and listened. He stared at the ground as other people talked about what they lost and how they were adjusting, and he couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. But wasn’t even sure he could say _why_. Not with the way his mind was raging. So, when Jessica finally called an end to the meeting, Eggsy rushed out the door. He walked home, brain buzzing with everything he heard. So lost in thought, he barely even realized he had made it home until he had opened the door to the flat.

“Eggsy! How did it go, babe?”

Eggsy snapped his head up in surprise at the voice and looked up to see his mum smiling at him encouragingly. It was too much.

“Fine”, he told her briskly, before quickly locking himself in his room. He curled up on his bed, back to the door, and stared at the wall across from him blankly, preoccupied with the raging in his head. With the stories he heard. With his own experience.

Eggsy wasn’t sure how long he stayed there, but eventually he heard his door squeak open.

“Eggsy?”

He didn’t respond to his mum’s worried voice. Didn’t know what he would say.

“I brought you dinner.”

Eggsy closed his eyes. So, it had been a couple of hours at least. He knew his entrance had probably worried her sick, but she had to take care of Daisy. And while she was taking care of Daisy, Eggsy was just lying in his bed, being unhelpful. He’d been unhelpful since that day. Useless. Unable to be anything but a burden.

Eggsy didn’t realize he was crying until he felt his mum’s hand on his shoulder, turning his unresisting body around. She laid down next to him and tucked his face into her shoulder, tears staining the shirt she wore. A loud sobbed escaped him. She didn’t say anything as she brushed through his hair with one hand and smoothed the other up and down his back, comfortingly. Eggsy wasn’t sure how long they stayed in that position – Eggsy crying for the first time since losing his hand, crying for the loss, but mostly for his inability to be _useful_ anymore. Eventually his tears slowed and his sobs ended, but the two of them remained where they were, Eggsy not willing to move out of the comfort of his mum’s embrace. Luckily his mum seemed to understand. After a few more moments, his mum quietly broke the silence.

“I’m sorry, Eggsy.”

Eggsy made a sound of confusion but remained where he was.

“I’m sorry this happened to you, that I didn’t protect you better. I’m sorry I pushed you to go to that group too soon.”

Eggsy shook his head, trying to contest what she was saying, but his mum continued talking, “I know you said you forgive me babe, but that doesn’t mean I’m not at fault for not getting us out of there sooner. I should have gotten us out of there the first time he hit you, but I didn’t. And now seeing you so broken and unable to fix it? I just… I had hoped that maybe other people could do for you what I can’t. But I can see you weren’t ready. I’m sorry for making you feel like you had to go.”

Eggsy pulled away to look up at her, “You didn’t make me feel like I had to do anythin’, Mum. I went because I didn’t want to be like Dean and take out my anger on you and Dais’. And I may never have be _ready_. But I _needed_ to go. I needed to hear what those people had to say. Otherwise, this would pro’lly have just stayed bottled up. But hearing those people, Mum? Made me realize that those people are _tryin’_ to move on. And I haven’t been, not really. Been too focused on what I can’t do. On how useless I’ve felt. But I think it’s time I start tryin’, yeah?”

His mum studied him for a second before moving the hand that was on his back to his cheek, “My strong boy.”

“Love you, Mum.”

“I Love you, too, Eggsy”, his mum told him, before they resumed their position for a little while longer, until his Mum got up to go check on Daisy, and Eggsy to go warm up his dinner in the microwave.

As he watched his food heat up, Eggsy remembered thinking that he was going to go to therapy for his family. And he did. But perhaps he needed to go for himself too.


	3. Progress

_Eggsy woke up to the sound of beeping. As he blinked awake, he felt things poking his arms and something holding his right arm in place. Confused, he looked over and saw his wrist bandaged with nothing attached after that. Memories of Dean cutting off his hand and then struggling to make it to the closest A &E with his mum and sister filtered his brain._

_Ringing filled his ears as he stared at his missing hand. His stump._

_“Mr. Unwin. I’m Doctor Taylor. It’s good to see you awake. Any pain?”_

_Eggsy tore his gaze away to see a doctor entering the room and shook his head._

_“Do you remember what happened?”_

_Eggsy looked back at the bandages and nodded slightly._

_“Good, that’s good. Do you–”_

_“Where’s my mum and Daisy?”_

_“They’re all right. They are right outside talking to a police officer. Now–”_

_Eggsy looked at the doctor again, “What? Why?”_

_“To my knowledge, to report what happ–”_

_“What?!”_

_“Eggsy?”_

_Eggsy looked away from the doctor to see his mum entering the room cautiously, glancing at his bandaged wrist. He dimly heard the doctor excuse himself as his mum slowly sat next to him. On the side that still had a hand._

_“Mum, you’re grassin’ on Dean? He’s going to–”_

_“He’s goin’ to go to jail, babe. I gave the cops enough to have him and his boys get put away.”_

_Eggsy blinked, “How…?”_

_Tears welled up in her eyes, “I’m so sorry, Eggsy.”_

_He stared at her and understanding dawned on him. She had collected evidence against them._

_“How long have you had it?”_

_“Since, I first realized what he was involved in. Before he ever became violent”, the tears fell down her cheeks and she sobbed, “I’m sorry, Eggsy. This is all my fault. I should have handed it over sooner.”_

_Eggsy watched as she covered her face with her hands and repeatedly apologized. After a minute he reached his hand out and gently pulled one of hers from her face. She looked up as the tears continued down her cheeks._

_He held her hand in his, “It’s okay, Mum. It’s okay. It’s not your fault. You were scared, I know.”_

_Another sob escaped her and she wrapped her other hand around his hand. She then closed her eyes and placed her forehead against his hand. Eggsy swallowed and looked away, trying not to think about the reality that awaited him._

**********

Over the next few weeks, Eggsy went to the group meetings. He had yet to share, but as he listened, he no longer kept his eyes focused on the floor. He brought his full attention to the people around him, remembering all of their names and what they looked like. The more he listened, got to know who these people were, the more things were put into perspective. He realized that although these people clearly had more time to adjust to their injuries, he wasn’t the only one struggling, and he was not the worse one off by far. Something Eggsy knew he needed to hear.

But even as he became more comfortable with the people around him, he realized that he was still couldn’t fully connect to these people. Because although he had become resolved to try and move on from what happened, Eggsy was _angry_. And the more he struggled to learn to do things one-handed, the more it built. He didn’t blame his mum for what happened, but he still resented that it did happen. That it could have been avoided. Because he knew there were things that he’d never be able to do again. Even after he fully adjusted, there would always be things he wouldn’t be able to do.

But then, the only other person he had noticed never spoke, volunteered.

It had been nearly the full hour and Jessica asked for another volunteer to speak. Eggsy was surprised to see the older man that Eggsy had to guess was in his fifties, raise his hand. The man was dressed impeccably – suit, slicked back hair, glasses with one lens blacked out – and screamed of money.

“Thank you, Harry”, Jessica said. The posh man nodded and began talking.

“As most of you know, I’ve been having problems with depth perception since losing my eye. Every time I would miscalculate the distance between things, I felt frustrated with myself. Before the injury, a friend of mine used to tease that I had the reflexes of a cat. And now I just feel like a bumbling idiot with the amount of times I’ve run into a wall. But the other day, I was cleaning the house when I knocked over a picture frame. It was a picture of a man I used to know, who died years ago, saving my life. The picture was undamaged in anyway, but it made me angry. Which, at the time was irrational, but that anger made me realize that I haven’t just been frustrated, but _angry_ this entire time. Angry because I won’t ever get teased that I have great reflexes, angry that I can’t go anywhere without bumping into someone or something, angry that this happened to me at all. And now angry that the man in the photo probably wouldn’t recognize me anymore. At the time, a friend of mine, Percival, was with me, and, somehow, he noticed that all of this was going through my head as I stared at the picture. So, he took the picture carefully and set it aside before taking my hands. He then told me ‘Change is inevitable. It’s what we do with that change that defines us. You have changed in many ways from the man that he knew, but you are not so different that he would not recognize you. Because after everything you’ve been through, this’,” Harry pointed to his heart, “‘is what defines you. And that hasn’t changed.’ It made me realize that it was _okay_ that I have been angry. That there is nothing wrong with it because I haven’t let it define me.”

Eggsy sat frozen to his chair. He distantly heard Jessica asking for another volunteer and someone else beginning to talk but all Eggsy could think about was the older man’s story. As time had continued to pass, and Eggsy continued to get angrier as he struggled. Eggsy had made sure to hide that anger from his mum and sister, only making it worse that he was bottling it up, because, after everything they had been through with Dean, Eggsy didn’t want to burden them with yet another angry man in their lives. And he didn’t want to become like Dean. Then, hearing how none of the people around him seemed angry? Eggsy had felt like his anger wasn’t a good response. That it wasn’t normal. But Eggsy realized that what Harry said was right. That it is _okay_ to feel what he was feeling. That it didn’t make him like Dean.

“Alright, it seems we have time for just one more volunteer. Would anyone else like to speak?”

Without realizing what he was doing, Eggsy raised his hand.

Jessica smiled encouragingly at him, “Thank you, Eggsy.”

Eggsy’s mouth went dry, finally realizing what he had done. He saw everybody looking at him expectantly and swallowed.

“Uh… My name is Eggsy. I haven’t been coming here for very long and this is my first time speaking. I…” Eggsy paused before closing his eyes and taking a breath. He opened his eyes again, “I lost my hand about a month and a half ago. And… And I have just been so _angry_ about what happened and how there are things I know I’ll never be able to do again. On top of that, I feel useless. Because I have been taking care of my mum and baby sister for years, but now I am unable to. And that has only made me angrier. I never spoke before because I hadn’t heard any of you talk about being angry. But after what, um… Harry… said, I realized that just because I haven’t heard you all talk about it, doesn’t mean I am the only one to feel it. And more than that, it helps to hear that it is _okay_ to feel angry. That I’m not the only one who has felt it. That it’s _normal_.”

Harry caught his eye and his lips curved upwards and nodded slightly. Eggsy quickly looked away, slightly embarrassed. His gaze made it back over to Jessica who smiled encouragingly at Eggsy again, before ending the meeting. Eggsy looked down at the floor as he stood up like the others, however, after a brief hesitation, instead of heading straight home, Eggsy looked around until he saw Harry beginning to make his way out.

Eggsy quickly caught up to the man, “Excuse me.”

Harry stopped and turned around, to see who was trying to get his attention. Once he recognized Eggsy, a small smile appeared on the man’s face, “Hello. I don’t believe we have officially been introduced. Harry. Eggsy, yes?”

Eggsy nodded and shook the man’s hand, relieved that he had held out his left one, “Yeah, uh, I don’t mean to hold you up or anything, bruv, but I just wanted to say thank you. I really needed to hear what you said.”

Harry smiled and nodded again, “I’m glad I could help.”

Eggsy hesitated again, “This may also sound a little weird, but will you thank your friend for me? Percival, I think you said his name was? He, um, what he said to you… I know he said it, only with you in mind, but it… it home for me. So, please thank him for me. Let him know that it’s something that is going to stay with me for a long time.”

Harry’s smile widened, “I would be happy to. Though I can’t say that I will enjoy how slightly smug he will be about it.”

“Thanks, bruv,” Eggsy laughed.

Harry then glanced down at his watch, “I have somewhere I need to be, but it was very nice meeting you, Eggsy. Will I see you next week?”

Eggsy nodded.

“Good. I shall see you then.”

Eggsy watched as the man walked off and it occurred to him that that had been his first real laugh since the incident. Eggsy’s lips twitched as he moved to leave the building himself. While he walked home, he couldn’t help but think about the older, posh man. It wasn’t until Eggsy got home did he realize that Harry was the first person he actually talked to from the meetings. Eggsy smiled, even though their conversation was relatively short, it felt good to actually talk to someone going through some of the same things he is. It felt good to laugh again. He realized that he couldn’t wait to talk to Harry again. He hoped that they’d be able to become friends.


	4. New Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry's Perspective because why not? :)

Harry had been surprised when someone entered the building later than him. Although he was never late – not for this anyways – he usually was the last one in the building. So he had looked up in surprise when he heard the door open after he had sat down. Harry took in the young man’s appearance – baggy clothes, hand tucked into a pocket – and easily saw how nervous the man was. He subtly watched the man, intrigued and a bit sad. This young man, who looked to barely be more than a boy, was too young. He shouldn’t need to be here. But here he was. So Harry decided to keep an eye on him.

During that first meeting for the young man, Harry noticed that he sat in a chair facing the door. Odd, considering Harry would have thought he would sit close to the door with how jumpy he seemed. But Harry could understand the impulse to be able to see the door. He was also sat in a similar position, only a few seats away.

Once the meeting started, the young man kept his gaze on the floor. Over the course of the hour, Harry watched as he got more and more tense. Tense enough that Harry wasn’t surprised that he bolted out the door when Jessica wrapped the meeting up. Harry inwardly sighed, hoping the man the best of luck, not expecting to see him back. Not with a reaction like that.

But the young man was full of surprises it seemed.

The next week, he came back. The young man was still slightly nervous, but no longer stared at the floor. He put his complete attention on whoever was talking. Whatever happened since the last meeting had obviously changed something for him.

And the same continued for the next few meetings. But the young man continued to remain slightly nervous. It wasn’t until the man’s fourth appearance at the meetings that Harry realized that it wasn’t nervousness. The young man was uncomfortable. Harry had to repress a frown at that realization. Why was he so uncomfortable now that he no longer felt nerves about being there?

But then, Harry knocked the picture of him and Lee off the mantle. As always, Percival remained more observant than he had any right to be and put some things in perspective for him. A perspective he had greatly needed. A few days later he told the group what happened.

And the young man froze, obviously lost in thought when he was done. Which then led him to raising his hand to volunteer. Not that it seemed like he knew what he had done until Jessica thanked him. The young man was clearly nervous and slightly uncomfortable with the attention. But he pushed through. Telling just a little of his story, having been inspired to tell because of Harry.

Harry was shocked. As much as he knew this group had a unique perspective that would allow them to understand one another’s stories, he hadn’t expected his story to actually _help_ anyone. But he was glad it helped this young man – Eggsy he heard him say. Because if anyone here seemed to need a bit of help, it was Eggsy.

Harry became even more shocked when he was stopped by Eggsy on his way out. Harry quickly shook off the shock and properly introduced himself, making sure to shake with his left, having noticed the young man kept the other arm (obviously the one sans a hand) tucked in his jacket pocket. But the surprise came rushing back – though Harry made sure to hide it – when Eggsy thanked him. And then asked him to thank Percival. Harry couldn’t resist the comment he made about Percival becoming a bit smug, which Harry knew would happen since Eggsy’s thanks can be seen as a big “I told you so” by Percival. But he didn’t regret his comment when it made Eggsy laugh. The young man seemed like he needed to laugh more. Harry then reluctantly left for the dinner plans he had, but resolved to befriend the young man. If for no other reason than to make him laugh, because, as Harry knew from experience, laughing could be hard to achieve when you were as angry as they were.

“Harry? You with me still?”

Harry snapped out of his thoughts and returned his attention back to his dinner companion, “Yes, sorry. Just something on my mind.”

Percival narrowed his eyes, “Something or someone?”

Harry sighed, inwardly cursing Percival’s observation skills.

“Someone”, he admitted. When Percival’s only response was to raise an eyebrow, Harry proceeded to explain, “There is a new young man who came in to join the meetings recently.”

“Ahh, so that’s what has had you distracted these past few weeks.”

Harry shrugged.

“Tell me about him.”

“Not much to tell really. I don’t know him that well. He came in, looking distinctly uncomfortable, and bolted out of the room when his first meeting finished, but then he came back for following meetings and his whole demeanor changed. Like something made him more… inspired about coming to meetings.”

“What happened today that has you so much more distracted then?”

“I…” Harry cleared his through before continuing quietly, “I told the group about what happened with Lee’s picture.”

Percival didn’t respond, which Harry greatly appreciated. It gave him time to put his thoughts together a bit.

“He froze after hearing what I had to say. But in a good way. Like it snapped something into place for him. Which led to him volunteering for the first time. Not that he knew what he was doing at first. I could relate to the anger he said he was feeling, as it sounded so similar to my own. But then he said that my story had just helped him understand that it was okay to feel it.”

Percival nodded, “So you were shocked that you helped someone by telling them your story?”

“Initially, yes. But after the meeting ended, he stopped me on my way out and thanked me. You as well, actually. He said he wanted you to know that what you said to me about change is something that he was going to carry with him for the rest of his life.”

“I see.”

Percival nodded his head, processing everything Harry had told him. Harry didn’t mind, it allowed him to think more about how he was going to go about befriending Eggsy. Perhaps he’d start to show up to the meetings early enough to greet him. Or catch up with him afterwards.

“He intrigues you.”

Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts again, “Yes, you could say that. He seems to be a little low on friends from what I could tell. And it seems like he could use one.”

Percival smiled at him, “You are a good man, Harry Hart.”

Harry shrugged. He didn’t know about that.

“Well if you do become friends with him, I’d love to meet him sometime. Especially seeing as how my words had an effect on him.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the smallest of smirks that had appeared on Percival’s face. And the smugness begins.


	5. New Friends

_“Okay, Eggsy, everything looks all healed and ready to go home”, Doctor Taylor smiled at him._

_“Okay.”_

_Taylor considered him a moment, probably scrutinizing his refusal to look at the stump as he pulled his arm away. The man then pulled something out of his pocket._

_“Before you go, I’d like to give you this brochure. It’s for a group of people like you who have become some sort of amputee. They meet once a week. I’d like you to consider attending. It might help you to adjust if you hear how other people have and are adjusting.”_

_Eggsy took the brochure and stared at the cover. He nodded and Taylor left. Once the man was gone, Eggsy set the brochure next to him on the bed and got up to get dressed, his stump still out of his sight. He stared at the sweat pants and hoodie that him mum had brought him for the day they would be able to leave. After a moment of consideration, Eggsy grabbed the sweatpants and dropped them on the floor. He then put each foot into the right hole and slowly pulled them up. Eggsy clenched his jaw in frustration at how long it took and removed the hospital gown. He then grabbed the hoodie and placed it on the bed before slipping his hand through the sleeve. He bent down closer to the hoodie and pulled it up his shoulder with his teeth._

_Eggsy was in the middle of trying to grab the other side of the hoodie across his torso when his mum walked in._

_“Oh, let me help you, babe.”_

_“No.” Eggsy moved away from here when she reached out towards him._

_He ignored her slight flinch and continued. After another minute of struggling, Eggsy clenched his jaw again and exhaled slowly._

_“Please, babe. It’s going to take time for you to adjust. Let me help you with this for this one time. Just so we can get home.”_

_Eggsy looked at her and nodded. He stood still, watching his mum’s face as he felt her pull the sleeve onto his arm and then zip up the hoodie. Once she was done, she smiled at him._

_“There we go. Now, let’s go see Daisy, yeah?”_

_Eggsy felt his lips twitch at the thought of his little sister, “Yeah. Let’s go see Daisy.”_

_His mum headed towards the door and Eggsy took a step to follow her but hesitated. Before he made his way out of the room, he turned around and grabbed the brochure and stuffed it in his pocket._

**********

“Hello, Eggsy.”

Eggsy jumped slightly, nearly knocking over the cup of coffee he was pouring himself. He turned and saw Harry standing next to him.

“Harry. You’re here earlier than usual.”

Harry rolled his eyes a little, “Don’t look so shocked, Eggsy. It’s not like I ever got here late before.”

“But you always come in last minute, yeah?”

“You notice when I come in?”

Eggsy felt his cheeks burn. He hadn’t meant to, but Eggsy had been amused when he noticed the older man always came in on the dot. It was very rare when anybody came in later than him.

Harry seemed to see Eggsy’s embarrassment and took pity on him, “I was wondering if you’d like to get a cup of coffee with me next door after the meeting. I thought it would be nice to get to know one another a little better.”

Harry wanted to get to know him better?

Before Eggsy could respond, Jessica began the meeting, prompting Harry and Eggsy to take their seats. Eggsy tried to pay attention to what other people were saying, but he couldn’t help but think about the older man’s offer. Why would Harry want to get to know him better? Eggsy didn’t mind, actually wanted to learn more about the other man, but he couldn’t see any reason Harry wanted to associate himself with a chav like him. Surely he had whatever posh plans after the meeting. In his experience, people like Harry tended to avoid his company and sneer his way. But Harry didn’t seem the type to sneer, according to what Eggsy saw in the last meeting. Perhaps because they had both lost something? From what Eggsy could see, though, the older man hadn’t talked to anybody else in attendance. So why him?

Wrapped up in his thoughts, Eggsy didn’t realize the hour had passed, the meeting now over, until he saw everyone standing up and heading out. As he stood up, he saw Harry heading towards him.

“Care for that cup of coffee?”

Eggsy considered for a moment longer before agreeing. He followed the older man out and to the coffee shop next door. They both ordered and sat down at a booth in the corner with their coffees.

“So, there a reason you asked me to have coffee with you, bruv?”

“As I said before, I thought it would be nice to get to know one another.”

“No offense, Harry, but your type don’t tend to want to get to know a pleb like me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “And what type would that be?”

Eggsy shrugged, “Rich, posh types. No way you wear a suit like that to every meeting unless you have money.”

When Harry didn’t respond right away, Eggsy worried he had offended the man. As much as Eggsy didn’t understand the other man’s motivations, he still wanted to know more about him. He didn’t actually seem to be like any of the snobs Eggsy had met before. But after a minute Harry smirked.

“You’d be quite right about the money. My family is actually one of those ‘rich, posh types’ as you said. But I rather enjoy earning my own money. And I would hardly call you a pleb, Eggsy. Even with that garish jacket.”

“Oi! I love this jacket! And that ain’t an answer.”

Harry smiled before finally answering with a shrug, “You seemed like you needed a friend.”

“So I’m not just some pity case or something, then?”

Harry shook his head, “Of course not.”

Eggsy watched Harry for a second, taking a sip of his coffee. When he only recognized sincerity on the other man’s face, Eggsy switched topics.

“Alright. What do you do then, Harry?”

“I’m a tailor. You?”

“That explains the suits. But, um, I’m not working. Kind of hard to find a job when I struggle just to tie my own shoes, yeah? Though I think I might have finally figured out how to do that.”

“Well then, allow me to offer you my congratulations.”

Eggsy laughed slightly, “It’s not something people tend to congratulate, Harry.”

“Yes, well, in my experience any achievements after our… injuries are worth a little celebration. No matter how small it is. It means we are working our way towards a new semblance of normal.”

Eggsy smiled. As great as his mum has been, it was nice talking to Harry. Although he had a much different injury, he was able to understand Eggsy’s struggles in a way his mum couldn’t. It made Harry’s congratulations that much better. Even if it was for a ridiculous reason.

The conversation continued easily, ranging from topic to topic. Eggsy told Harry about his mum and sister. Harry, in turn, told him about his friends Merlin, Percival and Roxy, all of which who had been helping Harry out since he lost his eye. As they continued learning about one another, Eggsy realized that he had smiled more talking to Harry than he could _ever_ remember doing. They were so wrapped up in conversation that neither of them noticed how long they sat there until Eggsy’s phone rang. He looked at the screen and saw that his mum was calling. Confused, Eggsy looked at the time. They had been there for hours, and now it was well past dinnertime.

“Oh, shit,” Eggsy answered the call quickly, “Mum?”

“Eggsy! Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

“I am so sorry, Mum. I should have sent you a message. I’ll be home soon.”

“I expect an explanation, Eggsy.”

“I will, promise. See you soon”, Eggsy hung up and looked back up to Harry, “Sorry bruv, I got to run.”

Harry smiled, “Perfectly alright, Eggsy. I should probably get going as well.”

Eggsy nodded, “I enjoyed this, Harry. Maybe we could do this again?”

“Of course. Perhaps we could make this a ritual. Have coffee together after meetings.”

Eggsy smiled, thrilled with the idea, “Absolutely, bruv. I’ll see you next week.”

Eggsy hurried home, knowing his Mum had been worried, but couldn’t stop thinking of Harry. He had been nothing but a gentleman but Eggsy had really enjoyed getting to know more about the man behind the suit. The man had a dry sense of humor, loyal friends if the stories about them were true, a bit of an odd side, but overall kind in a way that Eggsy hardly ever saw in his neighborhood. Eggsy didn’t realize he was still smiling until he got home. Eggsy shook his head, internally laughing at how ridiculous he was being and walked inside. It’s not like this is the first friend he has ever made. But something about the older man set Eggsy at ease. Made him forget about his anger and frustrations that haven’t gone away since the incident.

“Eggsy!”

Eggsy snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at his mum. She had a frustrated look on her face, obviously due to her worrying about him.

“Hey, Mum. Sorry for not letting you know I wasn’t coming home right away.”

“Where were you?”

“I met a bloke at the meeting today. He asked if I wanted to get some coffee with him so we could get to know each other a bit.”

All of a sudden, his mum lit up and rushed over to hug him. Eggsy could have laughed at how quickly her frustration disappeared, “Oh, babe! I’m so happy you made a friend!”

Eggsy couldn’t keep the smile off his face at how happy his mum sounded for him. He knew she worried about how he never went out with his friends anymore. He hugged her back until she pulled away and moved them to the couch.

“So, what’s he like? How old is he?” She narrowed her eyes, “He is _just_ a friend, right?”

“Yeah, Mum, he’s just a friend,” Eggsy laughed before telling her all about the older man. When he was done talking, she raised an eyebrow at him.

“You sure he is just a friend? Because you talk about him like he might mean more to you.”

Eggsy shrugged, “He’s the first person I’ve talked to who can really understand what I’m going through, yeah? It’s nice being able to talk to someone like that.”

His mum smiled sadly and placed a hand on his cheek, “Yeah, babe. I know.”

She got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen.

“Mum, you know I’m grateful for you being there, yeah? Wouldn’t have been able to get through this without you.”

His mum sighed, “I know. I just wish I could do more to help you.”

Eggsy got up quickly and stopped what his mum was doing.

“You do plenty. More than enough. I wouldn’t want you to do more even if you could. I need to find my own way through this, yeah?”

His mum nodded and smiled again, “Okay.”

Eggsy wrapped her up in a hug, returning the comfort she had provided since the incident.


	6. Struggle

_Eggsy woke up in a cold sweat, pain shooting up his wrist as the memory faded._

_“Eggsy?” His mum quickly came in, worry all over her face, “What’s wrong, babe? I could hear you screaming.”_

_Eggsy blinked for a second, “I-I’m fine. Just a dream.”_

_He winced as the pain continued._

_“Does it hurt, Eggsy? Should I call Doctor Taylor?”_

_Eggsy shook his head, not wanting her to fuss. He knew she needed to be up early to go to work. She had only been working there for a few days and they needed her income._

_“No, it’s fine. Go back to sleep, Mum”, when she didn’t move, he continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll call him. You have an early shift in the morning.”_

_She hesitated but nodded and left. Once she was gone, Eggsy bit his lip trying to distract himself from how much it hurt, and reached over to his cell phone._

_“Hospital of St. John and St. Elizabeth, how can I help you?”_

_“Hi, this is Eggsy Unwin and I was recently released. Doctor Taylor said to call if I was experiencing any pain?”_

_“Ah, yes, he mentioned if you were to call to get a hold of him. Give me one moment.”_

_Eggsy squeezed his eyes shut against the pain and waited for them to get ahold of Taylor._

_“Mr. Unwin? You’re having pain?”_

_“Yeah. It feels like my hand is there and there is a shooting pain.”_

_“Okay, it sounds like your experiencing phantom limb pain. It probably never occurred before due to your pain medication, which I’m guessing you stopped. Your mind is trying to get used to the fact that your hand is gone. I can help you ease it but you have to do what I say. It’s going to require you to touch the spot where your hand used to be.”_

_Eggsy sighed, “Fine.”_

_“Alright. In order to get the pain to stop, you have to remind your brain that the hand is gone. So, with your thumb, massage the stump in gentle but firm circles.”_

_Eggsy positioned the phone to hold with his shoulder and did as he was told. He sighed in relief as the pain slowly resided, “Thank you.”_

_“Of course. In the future, should that not work, you can lean a mirror up against your stump and hold your hand next to the mirror to try and trick your brain into thinking your hand is still there. If both of those fail to work, go ahead and give me another call and we can set you up with a phantom limb specialist.”_

_“Okay,” Eggsy hung up the phone and laid back on his bed as he continued to massage the stump. He couldn’t help but hope that both the nightmare and the pain were a one-time thing, but resigned himself to many sleepless nights._

**********

A few days later, Eggsy found himself sitting by himself on a park bench. He wasn’t watching anything in particular, completely wrapped up in his mind. When he had first returned from the hospital, sans his right hand, Eggsy spent his days trying to adjust to being one-handed. He took medication for any residual pain, causing him to sleep more than he liked so he stopped taking them. After that, Eggsy had an easier time adjusting to doing things one-handed, but also had to begin adjusting to treating his phantom pain – which now, luckily, occurs less than before. The methods don’t always work, but he tried to just focus on becoming useful to his family again. Then he started coming to therapy when that wasn’t working anymore. While that only changed what he did for one hour a week, between the fact that he had been going for about a month now as well as spending time with Harry, Eggsy had realized how little he was doing with his life. Once he had come to that realization, Eggsy felt restless. Unfortunately, that restlessness, combined with the anger he was still working through, had not translated well for him and his mum for the past four days. He snapped at his mum when she tried to help him out with things, like he had in the beginning. He also had to hold back a glare when he saw the sadness in her eyes at seeing him struggle because he didn’t want pity, and paced the house, when he had nothing to do which he could tell was driving his mum insane. Which is how he found himself at the park that day. Angry at himself for letting his restlessness and anger start affecting his family, Eggsy had walked out of the house that morning, not knowing where he was going until he saw the empty bench in the park.

“Eggsy?”

Eggsy looked to his right, surprised to see Harry standing by the bench, “Harry. Good to see you, bruv.”

“Nice to see you too. I hope I’m not being too forward, but are you alright?”

Eggsy shrugged in response, having no energy or motivation to lie to the man and claim that he was better than he was.

Harry considered him for a second before gesturing to the bench, “May I join you?”

“Yeah, sure.”

The man sat down next to him and they sat in silence for a moment, until Eggsy broke the silence, hoping to avoid having Harry ask him what was wrong.

“How are your friends?”

Harry rolled his eyes, “They are all menaces. Percival told Merlin and Roxy that I made a friend, so now they are both pestering me about meeting you.”

Eggsy laughed, “They do know that we have really only started getting to know each other a few days ago, yeah?”

“As if that would stop them. According to them, I am less social than the butterflies I have pinned to my wall, so they are rather eager to meet someone they don’t already know.”

Eggsy laughed again. If his mum wasn’t afraid of pushing him too fast like she thinks she did with therapy, he was sure she would say the same thing about him. Though she would probably not mention butterflies pinned to a wall. Not knowing what that was about, Eggsy decided that it couldn’t hurt to ask.

“Why do you have butterflies pinned to your wall, by the way?”

“I wanted to become a lepidopterist – to study butterflies – when I was younger, before I went into the army. After the army, becoming a tailor became the better option for me. But I still love their beauty so I have them on my walls.”

“You are kind of odd, aren’t you? Dead butterflies all over.”

Harry rolled his eyes and Eggsy laughed.

“How are your mother and sister?” Harry asked him once he was done laughing.

“Daisy has reached her curious stage, into absolutely everything. Especially now that things have settled down since–” Eggsy, cutting himself off from mentioning Dean – which was definitely not something he was wanting Harry to know about – but quickly continued talking so as not to look suspicious, “–since I lost my hand. Been driving us crazy at times, but we’ve been enjoying it. Mum is… well, let’s just say I might be driving her insane right now.”

Harry hesitated and softly ask, “Does that have anything to do with what had you so wrapped up in your thoughts earlier?”

Eggsy sighed, knowing the man was going to ask eventually, “Yeah.”

“Eggsy, you don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t want to, but I’m here if you need me. I meant it when I called you a friend earlier.”

While a part of him didn’t want to answer the older man’s question, Eggsy couldn’t help but think that maybe talking to Harry would help. He didn’t want to keep taking his anger and restlessness out on him mum. Eggsy took a breath and began slowly.

“When we went to the coffee shop together, that had been my first time since the incident – losing my hand I mean – that… well, let’s just say I haven’t been any more social than your butterflies either. Spending time with you made me realize how little I am doing and that made me restless. I used to hardly be indoor before. Now… the restlessness combined with the anger I’m still working out hasn’t been so great for my mum’s sanity.”

Harry nodded, “Perhaps if you could keep yourself busy? You said you were outdoors a lot before. Do you have any hobbies?”

“None that I can do with one hand,” Eggsy told him, trying to ignore how much he missed parkour, the activity adding to the ache that Eggsy already felt since being forced to stop gymnastics years before.

Harry then hesitated slightly, which Eggsy thought strange for a man who has seemed only ever sure of himself, “I know you said you don’t have a job because you’ve been struggling to relearn how to do things, but I know of a job opening that I think would suit your… capabilities.”

Harry winced at his choice of word, but Eggsy smiled, trying to convey that he wasn’t offended. Not when Harry obviously was trying to find a way not to offend him but still get his point across. Plus, he appreciated that Harry had been able to find a way around using the word disability. Eggsy hated that word.

“What kind of job?”

“Well, an… assistant, I suppose. Though if I know Merlin, you’ll end up learning to do more than what he is actually hiring for.”

“Wait. Your friend Merlin?”

Harry nodded, “He’s been looking for an assistant for quite some time, but has yet to find someone he gets along with well enough to hire.”

“You think we would get along well enough?”

Harry nodded again and Eggsy couldn’t help but be a bit flattered that Harry seemed confident in him getting along with his friend. But Harry seemed to also be more confident in Eggsy’s ‘capabilities’ than Eggsy did, so he took a moment to consider. An assistant probably meant things like making calls and filling out paperwork. Luckily, Eggsy was ambidextrous due Dean breaking his arm when he was younger, making writing one of the few things Eggsy didn’t have to relearn. But what Harry said about Merlin having him learn more… well, if the man hired him, he’d know Eggsy was limited for certain things so it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

Eggsy looked back up at the older man sitting next to him, “Alright, Harry. If you think this is a good idea, then I’m willing to try it.”

Harry smiled at him and pulled out his phone, “I can introduce the two of you on Monday, if your amenable.”

Eggsy nodded and gave Harry his phone number when asked for it so that the man would be able to let him know when and where to go. They then talked for a bit longer before Harry left to return to work and Eggsy left to head home, figuring his mum would start getting worried if he stayed out much longer.


	7. Nervous for No Reason

_The pain had gotten worse and Eggsy knew part of it probably had to do with his refusal to look at his stump. His brain wasn’t making all of the connections or whatever Taylor had been talking about. Which is why Eggsy was sitting on his bed, trying to prepare himself for looking at his right arm._

_When he looked down at the stump, flashes of Dean, pain, and blood went through his mind. Eggsy swallowed hard and inspected the stump. After some time, Eggsy closed his eyes and sighed._

_Dean cut off his hand. Now he needed to live with it. He needed to learn how to do things one-handed._

_He needed to be useful to his family again._

**********

Eggsy was surprised when giving Harry his number led to them actually texting one another. He knew Harry would text him details about when and where he was meeting him and Merlin on Monday, but he hadn’t expected Harry to also text him just for the hell of it. Like friends do. Then again Harry had called him a friend that day in the park. Eggsy just hadn’t really believed it until he realized that he had been texting with the man nearly non-stop in the past three days. Despite his slow one-handed responses. Which of course led to his mum asking who he was texting and then giving him a look when she told her it was Harry. He knew that it meant that she thought they were more than friends now, but Eggsy couldn’t find it in himself to care. Not when he was rather enjoying texting the older man.

But when Monday rolled around, Eggsy found himself extremely nervous. He was about to meet a friend of Harry’s. The friend who also might give him a job. Eggsy stared at his closet, having no idea what someone was supposed to wear to something like this. This was technically a job interview so shouldn’t he wear nice clothes? But they were also meeting at a sandwich shop which would mean casual, right? But Eggsy’s casual was very different than Harry’s. And the chances of Harry’s friend being just as posh was pretty high. But why should Eggsy dress up to impress this guy? If they were going to end up working together, they would probably find out Eggsy’s definition of casual anyways.

Eggsy growled in frustration, roughly sitting on his bed, knowing he was being ridiculous. He just needed to pick an outfit already. But the more he looked at his small amount of clothes, the more Eggsy was slightly panicking over wearing the wrong thing. Which he knew was more because he was meeting Harry’s friend than because of the possibility of a job. Partly because this would be only the second person that Eggsy had talked to post-incident outside his family and the therapy sessions, and partly because it was hard to be friends with someone when their other friends didn’t like you. And Eggsy really liked being friends with Harry.

He sighed, rubbing at his face with his hand before he reached over for his phone. He pulled up his text messages with Harry. He clicked the microphone button instead of typing out his message since he was alone.

_Not going to lie, I’m a bit nervous. I’ve been staring at my closet for an hour trying to figure out what to wear and feel ridiculous because of it. Any suggestions?_

Eggsy hesitated before pressing send. He stared at his phone, waiting for a response. Just when he was going to give up and just pick something random, Harry replied.

_No need to be nervous, it’s just Merlin. Despite appearances, he is a big softie. As for the outfit, as much as I think everyone should wear a suit, Merlin won’t care. He’ll be wearing a ratty jumper with black trousers if that helps._

Eggsy smiled at Harry calling his friend a softie. It also made him feel better to hear that he wouldn’t be the only one not wearing a suit, since Harry would undoubtedly be wearing one. Eggsy typed back his thanks – not bothering for the voice-to-text for a single word – and moved towards a closet. He pulled out his usual polo, adidas jacket, and jeans, trusting Harry when he said Merlin wouldn’t care. Though he did make sure to pull out his least flashy jacket and trainers without wings just in case. He also forewent his usual hat.

As he put on his clothes, Eggsy was glad he had figured out how to do it himself, no longer needing his mum’s help. He still struggled with button on his jeans a bit, but it got a little easier the more he did it. He didn’t bother trying to zip up his hoodie since it wasn’t too cold out – he had figured out how to do it but it wasn’t worth the time or frustration unless it was cold out.

When he finished, Eggsy checked the time before shoving his phone and keys in his pocket and left his room. He was leaving with plenty of time but Eggsy was too anxious to just sit around and wait. It couldn’t hurt to be a little early anyways. As he was heading out, he saw his mum and Daisy playing together on the floor. Daisy saw him first and reached out for him.

“Eggs! Eggs! Eggs!”

Eggsy smiled, “Hey, flower! You havin’ fun with Mum?”

She babbled happily and pat at his cheeks when he leaned down to drop a kiss on her head. He blew a raspberry on her cheek, causing her to laugh loudly, and moved away, hoping she wouldn’t reach up like she wanted to pick her up again. He wasn’t willing to try and pick her up and risk dropping her. It broke his heart that he couldn’t figure out how he would be able to pick her up yet, and hurt even more when she got upset that he wouldn’t pick her up. But he and his mum figured out that placing her in his lap helped soothe her when she got in a strop. Luckily, Daisy got distracted by her toys again and didn’t look to him to pick her up. Eggsy watched her play for a second, and smiled at her before looking up to see his mum was watching him. Eggsy saw the sadness in her eyes again. He was used to the expression every time his mum saw him interacting with Daisy but there was nothing he could say that would make it go away. So, he did his best to ignore it and not show how much he hated that look.

“I’m headed out to those lunch plans I told you about, Mum.”

“The ones with Harry and his friend?”

Eggsy rolled his eyes, “Yes, the one that could mean I might get a job.”

His mum narrowed her eyes at him slightly, “You need money, babe?”

“Nah, I still have some saved up from before.”

“Alright, have a nice time Eggsy.”

Eggsy just nodded and walked over to place a kiss on her cheek before walking out of the flat. Since he had extra time and the sandwich place wasn’t too far, Eggsy decided to walk to the shop. As he did so, he felt the nervousness he had been feeling before start to come back. It had subsided a little after he was dressed, but now that he was actually on his way to the shop, he couldn’t help but be just as nervous as he was before. Eggsy shook his head at himself. He was being ridiculous. It was just a friend of Harry’s. It wasn’t like they were dating and he was about to meet the man’s parents. Eggsy scoffed at that thought. He really needed to stop bringing Harry up around his mum. Obviously, it was making him think of things having to do with dating the older man now that his mum was convinced that they were more. But that was ridiculous. It’s not like Harry would want someone half his age even if Eggsy was interested.

Eggsy shook his head at himself and tried to focus on his surroundings. It was a good thing he did as he saw that the store was only two buildings away. Eggsy checked the time and saw that he was arriving right on time. The walk must have been even farther than he thought and he had been too stuck in his thoughts to notice. Hopefully Harry and Merlin would already be there so he didn’t get wrapped up in them again. Eggsy quickened his pace at that thought. However, when he entered the shop, Harry was nowhere to be found. Eggsy sighed and looked for an open table and sat down when he saw a booth by the window. He took out his phone and began to play with it, trying to pass the time. After fifteen minutes, Eggsy began to wonder if something at work had held Harry up. He had just opened his text messages to find out when someone approached his booth.

“Hello, Eggsy.”

Eggsy looked up and set his phone down when he saw Harry smiling at him, and a slightly taller man standing next to him.

“Harry! I was just about to text you. Was worried you got held up at work or somethin’.”

The man – Merlin he presumed – snorted softly, and Harry ignored him, “Nothing to worry about, my boy. Allow me to introduce you to Merlin. Merlin, this is Eggsy.”

Eggsy held out his hand and smiled at the man, “It’s nice to meet you, bruv.”

Merlin shook his hand, “It’s nice to meet you too. Word of advice though, lad? Always expect Harry at least fifteen minutes later than he says. I don’t think he knows how to be on time to anything.”

Eggsy laughed as Harry rolled his eyes at his friend, “I’m never late to the group meetings, I’ll have you know.”

“By like seconds,” Eggsy snorted.

“Oh, I like him already,” Merlin smirked, causing Harry to huff. Eggsy laughed again.

“Shall I get us some sandwiches?” Harry asked once Eggsy was done laughing.

Eggsy nodded, “Sure. You can get me whatever. I’m not picky. Just let me know how much I owe you.”

“Nonsense. I have it covered,” Harry said as he walked away, not giving Eggsy a chance to argue.

“It’s not an argument you would have been able to win, lad. May I?” Merlin asked him, gesturing to the seat across from Eggsy.

“Yeah, course.”

“So, Harry tells me your looking for a job?”

Eggsy nodded, “My family and I have been struggling to pay off some of my medical bills. Plus I’ve been a bit… um… restless. If I don’t find something then I’m going to drive them insane.”

“Ah. Harry used to feel the same way when we wouldn’t let him go back to work. We didn’t want him cutting off a finger with a pair of scissors, so we made him wait. Drove us all insane until we trusted his depth perception enough to trust him with anything sharp.”

“My mum’s the same way with me cooking. She’s afraid I’ll burn my hand or arm since I’m not quite fully adjusted to doing certain things. And my mum is an awful cook which makes things harder.”

“You did the cooking before then?”

“Yeah. Did a lot of things my mum has to do now.”

Merlin nodded and Eggsy felt himself relax when Merlin didn’t make sad eyes the way him mum had been doing. Eggsy closed his eyes breifly and sighed when he realized how good it felt to talk to someone besides Harry who didn’t feel pity.

“Are you alright, lad?”

Eggsy smiled, “Yeah, sorry bruv. It’s just nice to be able to make a comment like that and not get pity that I don’t want.”

As Merlin considered him for a moment, Harry returned with their sandwiches, “You two haven’t been gossiping, I hope?”

Merlin rolled his eyes, “You are the one who gossips, ye bastard.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Eggsy laughed at Harry’s attempt to brush off Merlin’s accusation.

“Anyways, have the two of you decided whether or not Eggsy now has a job?”

“Well, if you are interested in my shop, then yes, Eggsy, you are hired.”

“Um… It would help to know what type of shop you have?”

“Harry didn’t tell you what I do?” When Eggsy shook his head, Merlin rolled his at his friend, “Of course he didn’t. I own a technology repair shop, but I am known for the things that I make more than I fix, so I am often contracted to make custom devices for big companies and the occasional repair is brought in in between.”

“So, you’re an inventor. That is really awesome, bruv. I don’t know what help I’ll be able to give you but I am definitely interested.”

Merlin smile, “Don’t worry, lad. I don’t expect you to know how to do what I do. I just need an extra hand for taking calls that are made to the shop and the paperwork that I am falling behind in.”

“Well, I can give you one extra hand, but don’t expect me to give two.”

The two laughed in surprise, and Harry told him, “Dear boy, you are full of surprises.”

Merlin shook his head at himself, smile still on his face, “I’m sorry, lad. It didn’t even occur to me when I used the turn of phrase.”

“Don’t worry about it, Merlin,” Eggsy smiled in response, “Other than the hour for the group meetings that Harry and I go to on Wednesday, I can work whenever you need me to.”

“Alright, I’ll have you start Thursday at 8 a.m. so you can get the hang of things for the rest of the week and we will talk about shifts then. Harry can send you my number and the shop’s address.”

Eggsy nodded.

Harry smiled at the two of them, “I do believe my work here is done. I found Merlin an assistant and Eggsy a job.”

When the two of them rolled their eyes, Harry laughed, “See, the two of you are getting along already.”

“You won’t be so happy when either Roxy or Percival tell all of those embarrassing stories you don’t want told.”

Eggsy laughed at the look of horror that appeared on Harry’s face.

“On that note, I do believe it is time to return to work.”

Merlin smirked as Harry stood up from the booth and then turned to Eggsy, “I will see you at the meeting, Eggsy.”

Eggsy nodded and turned to Merlin, “It was nice meeting you, Merlin. I look forward to working with you.”

“Me too, lad,” Merlin smiled.

Eggsy watched the two of them walk out together and thought that if all of Harry’s friends are like Merlin, then Eggsy’s life is going to get a lot less restless.


	8. A Brief Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin is not a gossip :)

On Wednesday, Merlin was not surprised in the least when Percival and Roxy walked into his shop and interrupted his work on his latest contract. At least they brought him lunch. Knowing they weren’t going to let him get anything done, Merlin finished what he was doing and looked up at the two expectantly. Percival handed him his sandwich while Roxy brought up the reason they were there, on a day that Harry was unavailable to join them due to meetings.

“So, what’s he like?”

Just to torture her a bit, Merlin decided to play dumb. He had to get his kicks somewhere. Although he had a feeling his new assistant would ensure he got all the kicks he could handle.

“Who?”

“Merlin, you know who. Just tell us!”

Merlin raised an eyebrow at her impatience. They had all been very curious about Harry’s new friend, but Merlin doesn’t think he’s ever seen Roxy so impatient before.

“If you don’t tell her, she is just going to be unbearable until you do”, Percival told him calmly.

Roxy glared at her uncle, “Don’t pretend you don’t want to know about Eggsy just as much as I do.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Roxy just rolled her eyes at her uncle and turned back to Merlin expectantly. Merlin smirked at her enthusiasm but decided not to make her wait any longer, “Nice. Unexpectedly funny. Energetic.”

Roxy waited for him to continued but when he didn’t, Merlin could have laughed at her look of disbelief, “That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

When Merlin just shrugged and continued to eat his lunch, the young women crossed her arms and glared, “You are terrible at relaying information.”

“No, I just refuse to be the gossip that Harry is.”

“But all Harry has told us is that he’s my age and down a hand!”

Merlin shrugged again, causing Roxy to throw her hands up in frustration and leave.

Percival sighed, “She is just going to be even more impatient to meet him now. And she is kind of unbearable when she is impatient.”

Merlin just smirked and ate the last of his lunch.

“At least tell me, does he seem like he is going to be good for Harry?”

“I wouldn’t have hired him otherwise.”

Percival nodded before making his goodbyes and following after his niece. Merlin went back to the project he was working on, having a feeling that they were all going to be surprised by Eggsy.


End file.
